Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $52.08 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,381,495 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,734 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $52,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.3 %

VZ stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.29. 5,458,554 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,129,260. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Barclays increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.36.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).